MAPUTO – The family of a boy who was kidnapped and tortured to death last year, is now allegedly being targeted by the same suspects. The men apparently tried to abduct another member last week.
Fortunately, one of the suspects was arrested following this botched kidnapping attempt. The boy, Abdul Rashid (13) was abducted in Beira last year. He was killed when his family could not afford the ransom in exchange for his release.
The boy’s father, Mr Abdul Rashid, told the paper that the family had been living in a state of fear that the killers would strike again. He said the family had been watched and followed by people driving a Toyota Starlet.
“Last Thursday there were four people in a vehicle who tried to follow us from the Maquinino neighbourhood. We requested police assistance, but only the driver was arrested when he tried to flee,” said the father. He was afraid that nothing would come of the case “because in our country criminals remain in jail for a couple of days, then we see them on the loose again”.
The family spotted another car following them and requested assistance from police.
Other kidnapping cases this year
January 27
According to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the Maputo daily Noticias, there was an exchange of shots between the alleged kidnappers and policemen on Monday morning.
The only information on the intended victim, is that he was a European man.
The gang’s two cars drove into different directions and the police lost one of them. They caught up with the second vehicle and in the ensuing shoot-out, two kidnappers were killed.
January 19
An eight-year-old boy, who was abducted in the southern city of Matola, had been set free.
He was the son of a customs official, and the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of
five million meticais (about US$165 000). The police confirmed that the boy had been released and was in good health, but did not confirm whether any ransom was paid.
January 14
In the morning, four men kidnapped Mr Nasser Momad from his home in the neighbourhood of Bunhica, in the southern city of Matola, reported Noticias.
One of the neighbours said he recognised among the gang, a “policeman” of the fifth precinct in the Matola suburb of Machava. The presence of this supposed policeman initially led the neighbour to believe that he was witnessing an arrest rather than an abduction.
Momad (who goes by the nickname of Mulato) was seized at about 10:30. The gang arrived in four vehicles, armed with AK-47 assault rifles. They blocked the access and then invaded the house which their victim had been renting for the past six months.
January 11
A gang of eight armed men kidnapped businessman Mr Kishoor Chootalal on Filipe Samuel Magaia Avenue, in the heart of Maputo. As they did so, they fired shots into the air, to scare off bystanders. One of Chootalal’s bodyguards tried to prevent the kidnapping, and was shot by the criminals. He was taken to Maputo Central Hospital for treatment.
One eyewitness, speaking on condition of anonymity, praised the bodyguard’s courage. “He had been shot, yet he chased the bandits,” he said. “They were wearing bullet-proof jackets and made off at high speed along Ahmed Sekou Toure Avenue, and as they did so they bumped into other cars.”
In these collisions the number plate of the Nissan, ADW 896 MP, was ripped off.
